Time for an update

I was reminded this morning in my SS class that I had not posted for over a week. A few reasons -- ok, excuses -- for that. First, things are going great (OK, you do need to know that too), second I have been out of town (hmm, I DID have my laptop with me), and third, I have been spending a LOT of time (too much?) on our great new patient and caregiver/family support site that I mentioned before, www.cllforum.com It has only been up and running for a few weeks and already there are 216 members, as of this morning. It serves a different purpose from some of the others and has become a true community of fun, learning, and mutual support. We are family related by blood, OK, a blood disease, but blood nevertheless. There is no way they can take the place of my actual family who supports me in more ways than I could possibly count, but there I am able to give encouragement to others who may be newly diagnosed or who may have no where else to go to vent their frustrations and ask questions about their concerns. The only thing that is missing there, is a section to discuss things of a spiritual nature and I am planning to write the site creators/administrators to see if we could add this. It is very apparent that we have several members with a stong faith-based outlook and I think we need a section where we could freely write about that.

My blood tests last Monday were what I expected. WBC shot up and platelets went WAY up to the normal range. That is the Prednisone at work. I will see what the true results are this coming Friday morning. I will then start my third round next week Monday. I am still doing very well with no nausea, hair still there - though if I tug on it, it comes out very easily. OK, I'll stop tugging.

I was out of town this past week training with Tammy, my team lead. She used to be my supervisor, but with reorganization she has a new title, but still serves the function like an immediate supervisor, although she no longer writes the performance reports. She is great. She took the primary lead as this is the first time I actually taught the course. I wrote the pilot course a few years ago, and it has changed very little, so I was comfortable with it. We had a great, small group of participants. Only nine, and because we do a lot of paired role playing, I did lots of role playing. Both as the counselor and as the client. It made me realize I much I miss direct client/patient interaction. Perhaps when I retire (getting closer all the time), I might look into doing it part time. I love helping others.

I did fall asleep in the back of the room several times when I wasn't up training. So Tammy and I decided I might better tell them what was going on with me physically rather than them thinking the old guy was bored and just sleeping. I didn't want them feeling sorry for me, so I was a little hesitant. When I did tell them, I emphasized how great I am doing with this and made sure there wasn't of the "poor me" junk involved. They were great about it. It really was a super group of folks who took the training very seriously and it made for a very pleasant week. I did go back to the room each night and crashed/slept for a few hours before eating or watching TV. It was good to feel productive. When ever I actually taught a module, I felt energized. Thanks, Tammy, for being a great support!

I will be going to San Angelo this coming week for a couple of days. I will leave on Tuesday and come back Thursday night. This is a follow-up to last weeks training. We go out and observe the participants actually putting into practice with actual clients what we taught them. We then give them suggestions on how they might improve. I only have two participants from San Angelo, so that works out great and I will be back for my appointment Friday morning.

I will let you know the results of the blood work here at the end of the week. As always, thanks for your prayers and support. Prayers are very obviously working.